Abstract
The present study was executed using data from a call centre in Sweden in which agents answered questions regarding financial advice. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship of call centre agents’ perceptions about the work climate and the organizational values to their performance, as measured by the organization. In Study 1, agents (N = 106) reported their experience about the work climate and organizational values. Performance (i.e., percent of time on the phone for each work day) was then assessed for the next six consecutive months. In Study 2, agents’ perceptions of organizational values were measured among a new sample (N = 262) from the same call centre. Performance was measured during the next two consecutive years. With regard to the working climate, workers’ autonomy was negatively related to their own performance. The results show also a negative relationship between organizational values and performance during the two following years. Agents seem to maintain high productivity levels at the cost of organizational core values, perhaps due to the visible and rewarding nature of productivity.
Highlights
Organizations that work with specific values are more successful than the ones that do not emphasize values [1]
The results show a negative relationship between organizational values and performance during the two following years
Due to the working design of call centres, this negative relationship between work climate and performance was expected with regard to workers’ experience of autonomy, that is, opportunities for employees to organize their own work and the opportunities given for making decisions and initiating action
Summary
Organizations that work with specific values are more successful than the ones that do not emphasize values [1] These core values need to be explicitly declared and lived by the organizations leaders and employees [2], and should reflect the organizations business plan and marketing strategy [3]. Most call centres define performance as quantitative indicators such as length of call, number of calls, and the percentage of the scheduled “time on the phone” [5] This specific type of work design might imply unfavourable working conditions that might affect employees’ ability to learn how to cope with the rapid external and internal changes in working life. Taylor and Bain ([5], p. 102) suggest that “call centre managements face a plethora of problems concerning motivation and commitment, labour turnover, the effectiveness of supervision and the delivery of quality and quantity performance”
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